Vegetarian Ravioli
- About 1 1/2 pounds spring greens, one kind or a mixture, such as dandelion, chard, and/or spinach
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided, plus more if desired
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- About 1/2 cup chopped fresh fennel fronds, sage, chervil, basil, or a mixture
- 2 cups flour
- 3 eggs
- 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Make the filling first: Wash the greens well, then cook them in plenty of salted boiling water until tender, 2 to 10 minutes, depending on the green.
- Rinse, squeeze dry, and chop fine.
- Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; add the garlic and cook until it is dark golden, about 5 minutes.
- Saute the greens in the oil just until coated, a minute or two.
- Season with salt and pepper and toss in half the herb(s); stir well and set aside to cool.
- Combine 1 1/2 cups of the flour and a large pinch of salt on a counter or large board.
- Make a well in the middle.
- Into this well, break the eggs.
- Beat the eggs with a fork, slowly and gradually incorporating a little of the flour at a time.
- When it becomes too hard to stir with the fork, use your hands.
- When all the flour has been mixed in, knead the dough, pushing it against the board and folding it repeatedly until it is not at all sticky and is quite stiff.
- Sprinkle with a little of the reserved flour and clean your hands.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a cloth and let it rest for about 30 minutes.
- (You can store the dough in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic, until youre ready to roll it out, for up to 24 hours.)
- Clamp a pasta machine to the counter; sprinkle your work surface lightly with flour.
- Cut off about one third of the dough; wrap the rest in plastic or cloth while you work.
- Roll the dough lightly in the flour and use your hands to flatten it into a rectangle about the width of the machine.
- Set the machine to its highest (that is, thickest) setting and crank the dough through.
- If it sticks, dust it with a little more flour.
- Repeat.
- Set the machine to its next-thinnest setting and repeat.
- Each time, if the pasta sticks, sprinkle it with a little more flour and, each time, put the dough through the machine twice.
- Continue to work your way down (or up, as the case may beeach machine is numbered differently) through the numbers.
- If at any point the dough tears badly, bunch it together and start again (you will quickly get the hang of it).
- Use as much flour as you need to, but in small amounts each time.
- Pass the dough through the machines thinnest setting, only once.
- (If this fails, pass it through the next-thinnest once.)
- Flour the dough lightly, cover it, and set it aside.
- Repeat the process with the remaining dough.
- Cut each sheet into two or more 4-inch-wide strips.
- Drop heaping teaspoons of filling at about 1 1/2-inch intervals about 1 inch from one long edge of the strip (that is, about 3 inches from the other edge).
- Fold the dough over onto itself, pressing with your fingers to seal.
- Trim the dough with a sharp knife or fluted pastry wheel, then cut into individual ravioli.
- (You can prepare the ravioli to this point, dust with cornmeal, and refrigerate for up to a day or freeze for up to a week or so.)
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the ravioli.
- As you cook them, 20 or 30 at a time, make the sauce: Melt the butter with 1/4 cup olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat; season with salt and pepper and add the remaining herb(s).
- Turn off the heat and pour over the ravioli when they are done (theyll rise to the surface and swell a bit); add a little more olive oil if you like.
- Top with plenty of cheese and serve.
spring greens, salt, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, fresh fennel, flour, eggs, butter, extra virgin olive oil, parmesan cheese
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/vegetarian-ravioli-385908 (may not work)